GRAZING 5 years post op

Help, Help, Help! I came back to my old friend Obesity help because I know I will get the help I need. I'm 5 years post op and gain a little under 30 pounds. I have to stop this dead in it's tracks. Does anyone know where I should look for a maintance diet, or what I can do to get back on track. I have to be honest I have been pretty much doing what I wanted to do for the last 3 years and I'm paying the price now. I need to get back on track but it seems like I have forgetten everything. Should I go back on protein shakes? Should I eat every 2 hours? I would love to hear what all the 3 to 5 year post ops are doing to stay on track Thanks Shannon

You might try the plateau breakers diet. It will definetely offer the structure that you need to get control. Do this for 10 days to break a plateau #1 - Drink 2 quarts of water a day #2 - You must have 45 grams of protein supplement and all your vitamins/minerals supplements each day #3 - You may consume up to 3 oz of the following high protein foods, 5x a day beef pork chicken turkey lamb fish eggs low fat cheese cottage cheese plain yogurt or artificially sweetened peanut butter beans/legumes You may also have: sugar free popsicles tea or coffee sugar free soda sugar free Jell-O broths/bouillon crystal light drinks If it's not on the list, you can't have it for 10 days!!!! Or you might try this: KAREN B's TIMER PLAN FOR GETTING BACK ON TRACK The idea of this is to stimulate your metabolism to start burning fat and stop the grazing!!! Of course, adjust the times to your schedule, however, do NOT go past 1 ½ hours between some kind of feedings. 6 am coffee, tea, or some other kind of warm beverage to get things going 7 am 8 or more oz of PURE water 8 am protein shake 9 am 1-3 oz of protein type food* 10 am 8 or more oz of pure water 11 am protein shake noon 1-3 oz of protein type food 1 pm 8 or more oz of pure water 2 pm protein shake 3 pm 1-3 oz of protein type food 4 pm 8 or more oz of pure water 5 pm protein shake (like while cooking dinner prevents tasting and grazing) 6 pm dinner 1-3 oz of food total, i.e., 2 oz of protein food, a bite or two of veggie and perhaps a taste of a complex carb 7 pm 8 or more oz of pure water 8 pm protein shake 9 pm light snack like string cheese, deli meat or cheese, about 1 or 2 oz total 10 pm 8 or more oz pure water ? Pure water is very important to optimum health and to flush the fat cells through your body. You may drink crystal light, diet Snapple, flavored waters, etc., however, you still MUST get in the 64 oz of PURE water every day and do not count the water in shakes or the flavored waters UNLESS you are flavoring them yourself with lemon, etc. Propel is good, but still do not count towards your water. ? You may make your protein shakes with just 1 scoop for 20 g of protein or less, but your total protein shake consumption must be at least 90 g. I use the full 30 g portion for each of my shakes, but my body requires more protein supplement. Please adjust accordingly, however the importance is actually drinking them. You can make up a half a portion in 2-3 oz of water to equal 15-20 g of protein then your daily total of drinking 5 shakes would be around 100 g which is perfect for a proximal RNY. ? You will find that by setting the timer, you will never be hungry, and in fact, by the latter part of the day, you will be surprised when the timer goes off to have water, protein, or food again! ? All meals must have a beginning and an end. No more than 15-20 minutes per mini-meal. If you are full in five minutes, STOP and discard food or put away for the next meal. It doesn't mean that you can still eat during that hour. This constitutes grazing. ? Track your food in Fitday. This helps. You will find that even tho you are eating every three hours your pouchie can't handle as much as it could have before. ? If you aren't carbophobic add some whole grains to your meals, but eat them LAST. Mix all protein shakes with water and ice only. No milk or fruit. This adds calories and causes cravings for more carbs. You may add SF syrups, or mix your shakes with SF beverages, i.e., Propel, crystal light, Fruit 2-0, etc.

Carol Thank you sooo much, I knew I would find help here! I will start tomorrow. Shannon

I know exactly what you're saying -- I put on 30 pounds, too, before realizing that it WOULD keep going up and up and up if I didn't do something about it. Those 3 years of doing anything I wanted food-wise -- Clearly the WLS did NOT help my brain! Anyway, I have just lost the first 5 pounds by cutting out breads, concentrating on protein, and drinking lots of liquids, mostly water. Just what the dietician told me to do back in 2001. I am walking much more and every other day I use 5-pound weights to work on my arms. A friend of my mother's had WLS 7 years ago, lost tons, had tucking surgery of all sorts, and NOW HAS GAINED IT ALL BACK AND MORE. THAT scared me to death :-0 To have gone through all we've gone through and then to gain it back???!!! YIKES!! So I am counting points with Weigh****chers for structure, exercising a little (I am just not more than a walker, really, although I love to read about OTHER people walking ), drinking the water, doing the protein. I remember the old admonishment: 40% protein, 40% fruits & vegetables; 20% fats & carbs. KEEP THE FAITH -- WE'VE BEEN UP AND DOWN THE REALLY TOUGH MOUNTAIN -- WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE IT THROUGH A 30-POUND VALLEY! YOU GO, GIRLFRIEND. AWARENESS IS ALL!!! CJ

It's all about going back to basics. At least 60 gms of dense protein a day, low carb veggies and fruit. You can add nuts, but be careful because even though they are healthy they have lots of calories. I usually limit my snacks to 12 almonds. Unfortunately we all know what worked to lose the weight, but seem to forget we have to continue the plan to keep the weight off. I too am in a battle to lose the 12 pounds I recently gained while on vacation followed by various guest for about a month. We can do it once we are mentally ready, but for me I have to get the carbs out of my system before my brain agrees I'm ready to tackle the problem. Best of luck on getting that weight off again.